Tmnt: Family bonds
by sureshot9593
Summary: The Kraang have been defeated, and the turtles are reveling in their victory. But the Shredder is still out there, and bent on destroying them and Splinter. However, when his long lost sister and her son, Usagi, arrive, Karai's loyalty to her father may be tested too far and the Shredder will be faced with the Turtles' greatest weapon: their brotherly bond.


Chapter 1: The beginning of a new adventure  
_New York. Since the founding of America, it has been considered one of the greatest cities in the world. It's a wonderful place of wonderful sights. It is the home of Broadway, where if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. It is indeed a wondrous place where someone could have a good time. But there is another side to this simple city; a side which very few know, and those that do know stray none too far from their homes. It is the dark underside of the city, where thugs and gang members run rampant and bring about chaos to the common world. But there is another side to this element of society; a side more fearsome than it's familiar. Silent as the night with which they were most comfortable, a group of dark-clad, masked individuals could be seen raiding an armored truck with the letters TCRI that had been run into an alley. Their prize was a stack of crates containing canisters of a strange sickly green ooze. The figures were quick but careful to remove their cargo, lest their bounty's contents be spilled and cause a catastrophe.  
Suddenly, the street lamp, the only source of light in the dark alley, blinked out. Before the group could make any kind of reaction, there was a proclamation of, "BOO-YAH KASHA!" followed by a dynamic clash; a very one-sided clash. When the light finally returned, the dark clad figures laid beaten, tied up, and their masks removed. The canisters were also gone. And so the story begins._

Deep in the sewers beneath New York's streets, April O'neil, age sixteen, sat impatiently. Though it had been several weeks since the defeat of the Kraang and the rescue of her father, she still found herself coming down to the subterranean lair of her friends and part time caretakers: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One would think that after all the insanity she had endured those few months she had spent with them that she would desire a little time to return to her normal life.  
The truth: her life could never be normal again. She couldn't help but remember her first meeting with the turtles, and how she admired them each in their own way. Leonardo, the oldest brother and leader of the turtles, was very calm and collected, and did everything in his power to ensure his family and friend's safety. However, there were times that he would lose his cool when his plans failed, and he had a small problem of idolizing a sci-fi TV character with less than outstanding morals. Then there was Raphael, the hot head of the group. He had a terrible temper, and he wasn't afraid to hit first and ask questions never. However, deep inside his hardened exterior beats the heart of a kind soul, though he seldom revealed it to anyone but his pet tortoise, Spike. Donatello was perhaps the most affectionate of the three turtles, as well as the most intelligent. He cared deeply for each of his brothers, no matter how much they drove him nuts, and he spends most of his time building machines like the T-phones and Shellraiser to better their lives. He also, somewhat unobserved to April herself, possessed a titanic crush on her, often swooning over her when she wasn't around. Last, but certainly not least of the heroes in a half-shell, was Michelangelo. To describe the spontaneous being of pranks, quips, jokes, and villain-naming that was Mikey would take one thousands school psychiatrists, the leading scientists on the study of the mind, and an experience hypnotist so everyone could forget that they even tried. Mikey was the youngest of the four turtles, and his demeanor proved it. He was very immature and often times was slacking off rather than training. But, when push came to shove, he was one of the best people you could count on. He possessed a die-hard loyalty to all of his friends, and his devotion is only rivaled by his sense of humor.  
With a sigh, April moved to the table in the turtle's makeshift kitchen. It was here that she found Raphe's pet tortoise, Spike, munching on a lettuce leaf. As should be stated, Spike was just an average tortoise. He couldn't speak or possessed any other form of communication, but he was nonetheless a good listener. Something April felt she needed.  
"Hello, Spike." she greeted warmly. Spike munched on his leaf. "The guys sure have been gone a while, huh?" Still munching. "You know, I thought that once we saved my dad and the Kraang were defeated, I would be able to enjoy my normal quiet life again." Spike continued munching. "But, after enjoying like the first four minutes, I discovered that I'M GOING COMPLETELY OUT OF MY MIND!" Spike seemed unfazed by her sudden exclamation. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad it's all over, what with how my life was constantly in jeopardy and I wasn't ever sure if I'd ever see my dad again. But, now that the Kraang are out of the picture, very little goes on anymore." Still eating. "Do you think I'm just making a big deal out of this? Maybe I should just talk to Splinter about more kunoichi training and…Oh, that's right! He's meditating. Oh! I just wish the guys would get here already!"  
As if by magic, the lair became filled with the victorious whoops and hollers of four victorious teenaged boys. Thanking Spike for the talk, she zipped over to the front door, where she saw four bipedal, green-skinned humanoids walking in while carrying crates.  
"Hey, guys!" April called out.  
"Ugh, hey…April." grunted the blue bandanaed Leonardo with his heavy crate. "Nice to…see you."  
"April!" There was a shuffle of feet, followed by a crate flying into the air only to be caught by another turtle, and then Donnie appeared next to her and leaned against a wall.  
"Hey, April, how ya doin'?" the purple bandana turtle greeted, putting on as much charm as he possessed. April giggled and opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off when one of the turtles stepped on Donnie's foot…hard!  
"Yeow!" Donnie exclaimed, hopping on one foot. He whirled to face his assailant, an angry mark forming on one side of his head. "Raphe! What the heck did you do that for?!"  
The turtle that had stepped on his foot was carrying two crates. He parted them from his face to reveal the red bandana, and annoyed face, of Raphael. He held one of the crates to Donnie's face. "This look familiar to you?"  
Taking a closer look, it then occurred to Donnie that this was the crate he had been carrying. "Heh, heh, sorry Raphe. That one's on me, huh?"  
Donnie reached to take it from Raphe, when, suddenly, a plume of black smoke billowed between them followed by a turtle with an orange bandana exclaiming, "BOO!" Donnie cried out, and fell backwards onto his shell. With a little help from April, he managed to get back on his feet, and then shot a hot glare at his youngest brother.  
"Mikey! I've told you not to be wasting those things! I can only make so many at a time!"  
Michelangelo was on his shell laughing his head off. "You can't stop me, Donnie! It's the return of Dr. Prankenstein! I just couldn't resist"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, pranks and crates, really nice." April cut in, stepping between the two brothers. "But, now that you guys are back, let's do something fun! Like, maybe, finding some Purple Dragons and leave 'em black and blue, or clashing with some foot ninjas, or maybe even bungee-jump off of the Empire State Building! What do you say?"  
The turtles stared at the girl with no small amount of shock. It took a moment for a response, but Donnie finally spoke, "Actually, April, I need to dispose of this mutagen. It's a lot more unstable than what we've originally seen, and I don't want this stuff in circulation any longer than it has to be. But, you can help me with that, if you'd like."  
The excited smile on April's face fell into a disappointed frown, and her previous energy boost seemed to dissipate. "Oh, well, I guess that could be fun. I suppose." She was trying to sound hopeful for Donnie's sake, but it still wasn't what she had been expecting.  
"In that case," said Raphe as he set his crate down on the floor, and started walking off. "I'll leave this to you. I'm going to catch up on my sleep."  
"The comics are calling me." Michelangelo chimed, moving in a zombie walk.  
"And as for me," Leonardo said as he set down his own crate. "I've got some serious training to do, so please do not disturb."  
"Uh, Leo," Donnie began. "I fail to see how watching the Space Heroes marathon has anything to with training."  
"It does so!" Leonardo shot back. "It teaches me how to be a good leader. What better source could there be?"  
"Hmmm, how about _anything_."  
This was followed by a fit of uncontrollable laughter from both April and Donatello, both walking away from Leo whom was quietly fuming. Shoving their ridicule aside, Leo made his way to the den and towards the TV set. His was just reaching to turn on the set when he realized that something strange was going on in the lair, and when you're a mutant turtle living in a sewer underneath New York that's saying something.  
"Hey, April. Where's Master Splinter?"  
There came a rattling from inside Donnie's lab, followed by April's quick reply, "He's in his room, meditating."  
That struck Leo as odd. Master Splinter had been meditating since earlier that afternoon. The ninja master was very contemplative, but even he didn't meditate for this long. Feeling something was up, Leo walked away from his TV and went in search for his teacher.

If you were to enter the room of Splinter the rat, after getting over the shock of seeing a giant mutant rat, you would find him sitting cross-legged in front of the tree growing up in the center of the floor, his hands in his lap and his eyes closed. To the casual observer, one would merely believe that he was just in deep thought. But if one were to look closer, they would get a better idea of the torment that swirled within the deep recesses of his mind. Once a well-respected ninjitsu master in Japan by the name of Hamoto Yoshi, Splinter had lost everything from his former life. His wife, his baby, even his own name and humanity all because of the fire that destroyed his home and life; all because of him.  
Aroku Sake, self-christened The Shredder, had always been the bane of his existence. Sake constantly clashed with him as Hamoto because he had felt that he was superior to him and would do everything he could think of to prove it. What had once been a simple rivalry became boiling hatred to the point that Aroku Sake had had enough, and he then attempted to destroy his enemy. Though he failed to take Hamoto's life, his actions did result in the loss of everything Hamoto held dear.  
Heartbroken and his soul destroyed, Hamoto Yoshi had fled to America to escape Sake's vengeance. It was here where he began a new life and had adopted four baby turtles at a pet store. But his life took an unexpected turn with the introduction strange men in black, a mysterious ooze, physical encounter with a rat, and an accident. The ooze had given Splinter his new form, name, and four new children, and for fifteen years they had lived happily and without fear. But then came his student's first experience with the outside world, and the discovery of an alien conspiracy. What was worse, in their battles with the Kraang, the turtles had made another discovery: Aroku Sake had followed Splinter to America. The evil ninja had wanted to finish what he had started, and now his sights had also been set on his newest children.  
After several battles mixed with victory and defeat, Splinter and Aroku Sake eventually clashed. It had been an almost even battle, but revealed secrets were more or less that left it to a draw. In a moment that the Shredder believed that he would claim victory, Shredder taunted him with the fact that Karai, his daughter, was in truth Splinter's daughter, the only link left to Splinter's late wife. Sake had managed to save the child from the burning home of his enemy, earning him extreme burns to his face and also a daughter. Shredder claimed the girl as his own, but kept the truth about her birth parents from her. He also filled her heart with lies about Hamoto Yoshi so that she would forever hate him. When Karai had intervened in the battle between Shredder and Splinter, the wizened rat couldn't bring himself to continue and fled.  
This was what his mind was dwelling on. In his evil and hatred, the Shredder had not only destroyed his old life, but he had also taken a pure life and tainted it with his evil. It was despicable just how far the Shredder had gone to ensure Splinter's pain, and the more he thought of it the more Splinter's hatred boiled. Yes, he hated the Shredder. He hated how he had murdered his wife, destroyed his home, corrupted his daughter, and nearly killed his new children. Just the name of either Shredder or Aroku Sake caused his hate to well, and Splinter swore with an oath that he would make him pay for his crimes.  
It should come as no surprise that when he felt a hand on his shoulder, what with countless negative emotions flooding his mind, that Splinter seized a hold of the intruder's hand and swung him over his shoulder. His eyes snapping open, Splinter could see that the interloper was in fact a mutant turtle with a blue bandana.  
"Leonardo!" he exclaimed with surprise, helping his son to a sitting position. "Forgive me! I didn't know it was you!"  
Leo coughed. "Don't worry about it, sensei. I've suffered worse."  
Splinter was relieved, and then helped Leonardo to his feet. "Now then, is there anything I can help you with, my son?"  
Leo shook his head. "Actually, I came in here to check on you, Master. You've been meditating for a long time, and I was worried." When Leo saw a pained look come over his father's face, he added. "You were thinking about your battle with the Shredder, weren't you?" Splinter nodded. "Sensei, just what happened back there that would make you so reclusive? Just what did the Shredder do to make you so upset?"  
Splinter turned his back to Leonardo, unwilling to let his eldest see the tears that were running down his long face. "It is not something to concern yourself with, Leonardo. It is a matter between myself and the Shredder. A matter I shall resolve on my own when the time is right."  
There followed a long moment of silence, and Leo felt that this was all he was going to get out of the enigmatic rat. He turned to leave, but as he began to slide the door open Splinter called to him, "Leonardo." Leo turned back to him. "I want you to promise me something. No matter what happens, no matter how strong you become alone, I want you to stay true to your brothers. Though we all possess our strengths, the strength of the bond of family is far greater than any weapon. As leader, I'm counting on you to aid your brothers in following this ideal. Promise me, Leonardo?"  
The sudden statement boggled Leo's mind, and he found himself unsure of what to say. He finally opted for a, "Hai, sensei." and walked out the door. Leo stood outside of Splinter's room for a long moment, digesting his master's words carefully and thoroughly. Leo wasn't sure why, but the way Splinter had said the words made his gut churn. True, he had always told Leo that family was the most important thing, but it almost seemed like Splinter was preparing him for life without his beloved sensei. Such an idea was unthinkable, and a scenario that Leo prayed heavily that he'd never have to live through.  
His gaze landed on a punching dummy wearing a football helmet that had been fashioned to look like the Shredder's helmet. It was usually used for training or stress management, but, this time, Leonardo saw the actual Shredder's face behind the misshapen helmet. He could hear his cruel laughter and hateful taunts, and Leo could feel his anger slowly rising.  
"Just what did you do to my father?" Leo growled with malice. In one quick motion, Leo drew both katana and slashed them through the dummy, leaving it in three pieces. He then made his way to the training area of the lair. Space Heroes could wait, he had more serious training to do.


End file.
